


His Heart did Whisper

by rigauds_hemlock



Category: Pride and Prejudice (1995), Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen, Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Regency, Aristocracy, Dean and Cas fall for each other, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Misunderstandings, No Homophobia, Regency Romance, SPN Regency, Slow Burn, pride and prejudice - Freeform, this is a rewrite of the 1995 BBC program
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27943082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rigauds_hemlock/pseuds/rigauds_hemlock
Summary: “His heart did whisper that Castiel had done it for him. But it was a hope shortly checked by other considerations, and he soon felt that even his vanity was insufficient, when required to depend on Cas’ affection for Dean-for a man who had already refused him...”Dean Winchester finds himself sparring with Castiel Novak, a wealthy-and handsome-bachelor. his brother Sam is falling for said man’s cousin, a one Gabriel Novak. Follow the Winchesters through an uproar of marriages, scandals, pride, and prejudice.
Relationships: Benny Lafitte/Garth Fitzgerald IV, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Charlie Bradbury/OC, Gabriel/Sam Winchester, Jody Mills/Bobby Singer
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	1. A Man of Good Fortune

The sound of hoofbeats perforates the early morning air as two young men on horseback break across the gorgeous countryside. They slowed, bringing their horses to a halt well beyond the front of the large manor that rested amid the rolling green dotted with trees. The men gazed upon the structure, appraising its style and structure alike.

“It’s a fair prospect.”

The man speaking, a one Mr. Gabriel Novak, smiled at his traveling companion. He spoke with an unusual level of veracity, and the absence of teasing in his voice had his friend leveling him with a curious stare.

“Pretty enough, I grant you,” Castiel Novak remarked after a moment of staring at his cousin. 

“Oh, it’s nothing to Pemberley, I know, but I must settle somewhere.” Gabriel looked out at the windows dotting the front of the manor, as well as the well-kept gardens surrounding the structure. He looked back to Castiel, asking “Have I your approval?” 

“You’ll find the society something savage.”

“Country manners?” He flashed his cousin a mischievous grin, causing the quiet man to tick up an eyebrow as a response in kind. “I think they’re charming.”

Castiel considers the manor before replying, “Then you’d better take it.”

“Thank you, cousin, I shall. I shall close with the attorney directly.” 

With another grin from Gabriel and an eye roll from Castiel, the Novak men rode off, leaving the rolling hills of Netherfield Park behind them.

From a well-beaten path surrounded by wildflowers and drenched in sunshine, a young man watches them ride away, humming contentedly to himself as he continued on his way. 

The man was beautiful in the way an overflowed garden attended by time, nature and the apt attention of an affectionate gardener could be. Where the sun walked across his smooth features, it left golden skin and spatterings of freckles before settling lines of gold in the deep green of his eyes. 

As he made his way, he took in the peaceful countryside, happy to have a moment away from the chaos of Longbourn and the Winchester family. The eldest of five children, Dean needed any moment of peace he could get. Even now as he approached Longbourn he could hear his sisters arguing.

“Charlie, that’s mine!”

“It’s mine now. You’d never wear it anyway.”

Charlie’s voice was teasing, goading her sister Jo on as she prances about with her bonnet.

“I would,” Jo insisted, her features going cold as she watched the redhead play with the garment, “I wanted to wear it today! Look what you’ve done to it! Mamma! Mamma!”

Hoping to avoid being pulled into an argument that would doubtlessly end with both girls pitted against himself, Dean quietly looks on through his father’s library window.

“Charlie has torn up my bonnet, made it up new, and says she will wear it to church! Tell her she won’t, Mamma!” 

Cutting above her sister's voice, Charlie says, “I will wear it Mamma!”

Their father, John Winchester, rolls his eyes at Dean through the glass, chuckling at his daughters’ antics. He returns to his book while the dramatics continue on around him.

“I beg you would tell her so,” said Charlie, smiling at the angry blonde across from her, keeping as many obstacles between them as possible, “for it’s all my own work, and she would be a fright in it…”

Jo stuck her tongue out, but didn’t seem seriously hurt by the comment. Mary Winchester, their loving-if not frazzled-mother exclaimed at the commotion.

“No, you shall not have it! Mamma, tell her it is so.”

Jo lets out a growl, giving chase after Charlie in pursuit of the bonnet, the two girls making laps around the library before Charlie finds herself using their mother as a barrier.

“Girls! Would you tear my nerves to shreds?” She looked between them, setting her hands to her temples, a familiar gesture Dean knew meant one of her migraines was inbound. “Oh, let her have it, Jo, and be done.”

“But it’s mine! You let her have everything that is mine!” Jo stalks out, passing Sam in her hurry out into the hall and nearly knocking the lanky man over. Sam is an even-tempered young man, equal in looks to that of his older brother Dean. With stunning green eyes and hair flowing to his shoulders, the man was a vision to behold. His mother had high hopes for a successful marriage for her second son, and would expound for hours on his kindness and generosity of spirit. 

“Oh, what is to become of us all? Sam! Dean! Where are you?”

The brothers exchanged amused looks as Dean entered the hall. They were quite used to their mother’s antics by now, and loved her all the same. 

“Here, Mamma.”

“Coming Mamma.”

* * *

Church bells rang over the glen as families depart from the church’s doors. Mrs. Winchester laughs with a friend before joining her family. John takes Mary’s hand, and they take off down the lane toward Longbourn with their children in tow. Sam and Dean walk together, whispering and laughing as they go. They’re followed by Jo and Charlie, who have already made up, and their youngest brother Kevin, who keeps his head buried in a book.

“My dear! John, I have such wonderful news! Netherfield Park is let at last!” 

John smiles at his bride, “is it?”

“Yes, it is. For I have just had it from Mrs. Long,” with a conspiratorial smile to her husband, she continues, “and do you not want to know who has taken it?”

“You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

“Why, then, it is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England. A single man of large fortune, my dear!” Behind them in the lane, their eldest two children stop their whispering to listen in on the conversation, knowing where their mother intended to take the little speech. “He came down on Monday in chaise and four to see the place. His name is Gabriel Novak, and he will be in possession by Michaelmas, and he has 5,000 a year! What a marvelous thing for our children.”

John glances back at their small brood and sees his eldest boys attempting to appear as if they weren’t listening in. The other three had lagged behind. His trickster, Charlie, had teamed up with Jo to snatch Kevin’s book. With a stern look to the pair of giggling girls, they relinquished it back to the boy. He could hear Jo asking Kevin about the premise as he looked back to Mary.

“How so? How can it affect them?”

“Oh Mr. Winchester,” she says, rolling her eyes, “how can you be so tiresome? You must know that I’m thinking of his marrying one of them.”

Sam chokes back a laugh as Dean smacks his arm. Sam whispers something about Dean being a jerk under his breath.

“Hm…” 

The family continues down the lane, soaking in the Sunday morning sun and the breeze that had broken through the trees. 

“For a single man in possession of a good fortune  _ must _ be in want of a wife,” Dean intones, making Sam lose his composure in a fit of laughter. The girls and Kevin, finally joining the conversation, laugh along. Mary continues, disregarding the tones of her children.

“Yes, he must indeed! And who better than one of our five children?”

Charlie giggles before letting out a snort.

“Charlie!” Sam glances back at the girl.

“What a fine joke if he were to choose me!” The redhead continued to laugh as her sister chimed in, “Or me!” They dissolved in a fit of giggles, and began to whisper about what they believe this Mr. Novak would look like. 

“So,” says John, “that is his design in settling here, to marry one of ours?”

“Design?” Mary looks completely scandalized. “Oh, how can you talk such nonsense? But you know, he may very likely fall in love with one of them.”

“Oh?”

“Therefore you must visit him directly he comes.”

“Visit him? Oh, no, no. I see no occasion for that.”

“Oh, John!”

He takes a moment to appear like he is considering the idea. “Go yourself with the children. Or, still better, send them by themselves!”

“By themselves?!”

“Aye, for you’re as handsome as any of them. Mr. Novak might like you best of the party.”

Mary gapes at her husband before he winks, setting her to a smile. Charlie giggles, snorting once more.

“Charlie…” Dean smiles, choking back his own laugh.

Arriving at their home, Mary continues to fret over her husband's responses.

“Oh, what I try to do for my children is ruined! Ruined! No one thinks of your future but me!” 

Their servant, Hill, enters to assist the family in the removal of their coats.

“Oh, Hill! Oh, Hill! I am so distressed… for Mr. Winchester says he will not visit Mr. Novak when he comes.”

Hill, who is always very kind to the fretful woman, places a sweet hand across Mary’s back, soothing her with a “oh, there, there now ma’am.”

“Mamma,” says Jo, “can’t you reason with him?”

“I dare say it will all turn out to be well,” says Hill, still trying to calm her mistress.

Charlie intercedes fretfully, “What are we going to do if we’re never allowed to meet anyone?”

“No, no,” says Mary to Hill, “It will not! For he is bent on ruining us all!”

She stalks off to the drawing room, Sam close behind, attempting to soothe the woman.

“Mamma,” he says sweetly, “I’m sure he is teasing you. He will call on Mr. Novak as sure as he would call on any new neighbor of ours.”

John is stoking the fire, avoiding his wife’s gaze. 

“No, no, Sam, how can you say that? You heard him yourself, and you know that your father has a will of iron.”

Sam finally convinces her to take a seat in one of the large lounges, taking her hand. He had always had a strong bond with their mother, and knew exactly how to calm her when she became anxious. Dean had always been more in line with their father. While they weren’t exactly close, they were similar in many ways and understood each other.

John stood from the fire and took a seat in his favorite chair. 

“You’re in the right, my dear,” he says to his wife, “But I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I shall write to Mr. Novak, informing him that I have five children, and he’s welcome to any of them that he chooses. They’re all silly and ignorant…”

With a wink to Dean as he entered the drawing room, he continued, “Well, Dean has a little more wit than the rest. But then he may prefer a stupid partner, as others have done before him. There, will that do?”

Mary had grown deathly pale and stammered, “No, no! I beg you will not write at all if you…” She looks to her husband and notices the sly smile he shares with their eldest. “Oh, you take delight in vexing me! You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”

He simply smiles at her affectionately.

“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They’ve been my old friends these twenty years at least.”

“You don’t know what I suffer!”

“Well, I hope you recover, and live to see many young men of five thousand a year come into the neighborhood.”

“It will be no use if twenty such men should come since you will not visit them.”

“Depend on it my dear - when there are twenty, I’ll visit them all.”

He leaves the drawing room, tossing a smile at his sons on his way out. Sam glances at Dean, a smile threatening his face as he continues to console Mary.

“There, you see Sam? He will not be prevailed upon. He’ll see us all ruined. Oh if only my grandfather had entailed the fortune to us…”

Charlie, Jo, and Kevin enter the drawing room and seat themselves across from their mother.

“Misfortunes, we are told, are sent to test our fortitude, and may often reveal themselves as blessings in disguise.” Kevin looks up from the new novel he has picked up from the side table. Dean shoots him a quick smile of encouragement before Charlie slouches in her chair, pouting.

“Lord, I’m so hungry!”

* * *

Sam sat at the mirror in their shared room, brushing out his flowing hair as dean dressed for bed behind him. The eldest Winchester sighs, garnering a look from Sam through the mirror.

“If I could love someone who would love me enough to take me for a mere £50 a year, I should be very well pleased.”

With a soft, inquisitive look, Sam nods at his brother.

“But such a lover could hardly be sensible,” Dean continues, “and you know I could never love anyone out of their wits.”

Chuckling, Sam turned to face him. “Oh, Dean. A marriage where either partner cannot love or respect the other… that cannot be agreeable… to  _ either _ party.”

“As we have daily proof.” Dean rolls his eyes when Sam attempts to level him with a look at the quip on their parents. “But beggars, you know, cannot be choosers.”

“We are not very poor, Dean”

“With grandfather’s estate entailed away, we have little but our charms to recommend us. One of us at least will have to marry very well. And since you are quite five times as attractive as the rest of us, and have the best disposition, I fear the task will fall on you to raise our fortunes.”

He winked at his brother and gave him a smile. He always loved to make Sam smile, as the closest of his siblings. He hoped Sam would take the compliments well, but his brother had a habit of deflecting them.

“But, Dean,” he put a hand to his neck, uncomfortable with the praise, “I would wish… I should so much like… to marry for love.”

“And so you shall!” He approaches Sam and pulls him in for a hug, saying “I’m sure of it. Only, take care you fall in love with someone of good fortune.” He says the last bit of his speech with a chuckle as he releases him. Sam laughs with his brother.

“Well, I shall try… if only to please you. And you?”

Dean sat before the mirror, Sam towering behind him. He looks at his reflection and intones seriously, “I am determined that nothing but the very deepest love will induce me into matrimony. So, I shall end an old bachelor, and teach your ten children to knit misshapen socks and hunt.” 

Seeing that he’d succeeded in making the younger Winchester smile, he nodded and went out to the hall, intent on saying goodnight to his family.

Going door to door, he wished them all goodnight. His mother was recovering from her earlier excitement. Charlie and Jo bid him a goodnight with a kiss on either cheek. At the final room, he found Kevin asleep in his reading nook, his book still in hand. Dean marked the page and set it aside before placing a blanket over his youngest sibling. 

“Goodnight, Kevin.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a nearly word-for-word rewrite of BBC’s 1995 TV program of Pride & Prejudice. For those familiar with the storyline, much will remain the same, but there will be slight warping of characters to fit the SPN universe within that of Jane Austen’s making. I may include some features of the novel as well, so that we get some cute destiel time at the end!


	2. A Strong Constitution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.” 
> 
> Jane Austen, “Pride and Prejudice”

The breeze drifts gently across a summer kissed lane, skittering through patches of thrift and harebell. The teasels are in full bloom, and the trees sway gently as the wind carries away the heavy heat of summer. Dean breathes in deep, filling his lungs with the soft scent of the lane as he takes in the quiet of the morning. His walk had been a pleasant one, and he was glad to have the time away. The girls had been squabbling when he left, Kevin seated at the piano practicing a new concerto. His mother and father had been in the midst of some petty quarrel or another as he made his way out into the morning. 

He’d spent the last few hours exploring the woods to the east of Longbourn, marking new tracks and plant growth before checking on his favorite spots to hunt or just sit. His tree, a large, gnarled hornbeam that had long since been marked by Dean and Sam’s initials in its bark. Dean hoped to maybe bring his younger siblings to this spot eventually, but he feared losing his only quiet spot to the chaos of their constant bickering. 

_Maybe when they’re older…_

Now nearing midday, Dean walked back up the lane towards Longbourn. 

“Dean!”

Up ahead, Jo and Charlie waved, and Charlie called out to him once more, “Wait till you hear our news!” 

Jo let out a giggle of excitement as they entered the house with their eldest brother. She whispers in her sister’s ear, eliciting further laughter from the tall redhead. 

“Out with it girls, what’s the news?” 

“Well,” says Charlie, looking around in an over exaggerated manner, “Mr. Novak has come to Netherfield-”

“-And Sir John Lafitte has called on him,” finished Jo, blurting the news past her own hand clamped over her mouth. 

“Save your breath, Jo! I will tell Mamma.”

Charlie dragged a coughing Jo through the hall into the drawing room. Dean raised his eyebrows at the antics, wondering a bit _why_ the redhead was so interested in the arrival of the gentleman. He made a mental note to ask later if the gentleman had any beautiful sisters in company.

“Mamma, I must tell you-“

“I do not wish to know,” Mary interrupted Charlie in a huff, “What should we care for Mr. Novak since we are never to be acquainted with him?”

Charlie scoffed at her mother, “But Mamma!”

Jo coughed into a handkerchief, and Mary gave her a sideways glance.

“Oh, don’t keep coughing so, Jo. For heaven’s sake, have a little compassion on my nerves!”

The girls began talking over each other excitedly:

“I don’t cough for my own amusement!”

“He has thirty servants, forty servers, and he’s very handsome, and wears a blue coat!”

“And he declared to Sir John that he loves to dance!”

“And he’s promised to come to the next ball!”

“At the assembly rooms!”

“On Saturday!”

“And bring six ladies and four gentlemen!” Jo exclaimed.

“Nay,” replied Charlie, “it was twelve ladies and seven gentleman.”

Dean leaned over to Sam and stage-whispered, “Too many ladies…”

Charlie giggled and Dean sent a wink her way, laughing with his brother.

“Oh, Lydia,” said their mother, “I beg you would stop, for we are never to know Mr. Novak and it pains me to hear of him…”

“But Mamma!”

“I am sick of Mr. Novak!” 

Mary huffed in frustration towards her husband, who barely glanced up from his desk before replying, “I’m sorry to hear that. If I had known as much this morning, I should never have called on him…”

There was a complete change in the air of the room as Charlie, Jo, and their mother gaped in open shock at John Winchester, who simply folded up the letter he had been writing, and readied wax to seal it.

When the silence had gone on for long enough, Mary leaned towards her husband. “You’ve called on him?!”

He sighed, “I’m afraid we cannot escape the acquaintance now.”

Mary lit up like a roman candle, and leapt into her husband’s arms laughing. “Oh, my dear John, how good you are to us!”

John beamed at his wife, and kissed her before chuckling at the disgusted faces made by his five children. “Yeah, well…”

“Oh darlings, is he not a good father? And never to tell us; what a good joke! Oh and now you shall all dance with Mr. Bingley.” At the looks on the faces of two of her children she amended her statement, “Except for Charlie and Kevin, of course, but we can find you equally suitable partners… Maybe one of those ladies!”

Charlie jumps up from the couch and bows to Jo, who curtsies and accepts her extended hand. The two begin gallivanting about the room, twirling and smiling as they circled their parents. 

“I hope he has a strong constitution, Mamma.” Dean smiled at his sisters and wiggled his eyebrows at Sam, who shook his head at him, smiling. Without another word, Dean got up and removed the book from Kevin’s hands, adding him as his partner in the dance forming in the room. 

John and Mary watched on lovingly as their children pranced round them, exchanging partners and laughing. 

“And a fondness for silly young people.”

“Oh, Mr. Winchester, nothing you say shall ever vex me again.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said John, holding his wife close, “Well, Jo, I think you may cough as much as you choose now.”

* * *

If Lafitte Lodge is beautiful in the daytime, it’s ethereal at night. Decked in boughs of broad leaves and wildflowers, candles and silver fixtures, the ballroom looked like an enchanted forest, with fae dancing merrily under the flickering light of wax stars and a silver-plated moon. 

Dean looked out on the room from the doorway to the balcony. He could see Charlie and Jo dancing amongst a group of lively young women, laughing and talking with their friends. Charlie was dressed in a loosely fitted dark grey suit, and Jo wore a matching gown. Kevin could be seen in his tan-colored great coat (a touch too big for him yet) and deep red trousers, watching the pianist play, mimicking the motions with his fingers. He glanced over to Sam, who crossed the room to stand with him. As usual, his brother was dressed to the nines in a near-black shirt paired with a dark green three piece suit. One of the girls bouncing around the room had placed a crown of laurels upon the giants head and he was flushed from the exertion of dancing. 

“Dean!”

“Hey, Sammy…” He flashed his brother a quick smile and winked at him before asking, “I see you’ve been busy. Nearly every young person in the room has a space reserved on their dance card for you!”

Sam blushed and ducked his head at the praise.

“Dean, you really should dance! I’m sure there’s someone…” He looked around for a suitable partner for Dean, “I mean surely you’ve seen some of the glances you’ve gotten.”

Dean was danced similarly to Sam, with a very dark shirt, but his suit was one of a very deep red. His brother chuckled at him and reached out to fix Dean’s matching tie, which had gone slightly askew.

“Thanks, Sammy.” 

The doors to the hall opened, and the party was steeped in a patient silence, as five strangers stepped into the room.

* * *

The first thing Dean noticed when the hall went quiet was the look of awe on his little brother’s face. The second was that the group of people his brother was admiring were a party of largely angelic people who appeared to be quite literally glowing in their finery. The third was the most stunning man he’s ever seen in his life. Dressed in all black with a khaki greatcoat, the strange man immediately drew his attention as he confidently strode across the room following a short man with long hair and what appeared to be a permanent mischievous look on his face. They were followed by a short, dark haired woman with even darker eyes and perfect red lipstick pasted in a smirk only rivaled by that of the nearly scandalously clad fellow beside her, who had on a grey suit set with no tie and a few buttons done down. Together they were a sight to behold, and could be none other than the Novak clan. 

While the ballroom of people continued to drink in their fill of the strangers, Sir John Lafitte stepped forward to greet them.

“Mr. Novak!” He greeted the short man at the front of the group first, bowing to him, “Allow me the pleasure of welcoming you to our little assembly here.”

“Sir John,” Mr. Novak replied, bowing in response, “I am very glad to see you. There is nothing that I love better than a country dance.”

The musicians took this as their cue to begin again, striking up a lively tune that had many young people laughing and striding up to join the forming dance line. As they began, and the Novak’s were left to their introductions with Sir John Lafitte, his young son Benny Lafitte sidled up next to Dean. The two shared a look before turning to Sam, who appeared to still be sneaking glances at the group.

_No_ , Dean decided, _not the group. Mr. Novak…_

“Only the one lady, then, after all. Do you know who they are, Benny?”

Benny glanced over at the young woman, who was slowly taking in her surroundings, apparently unimpressed. 

“She would be Mr. Novak’s sister, I understand.”

“Ah, and is she married to the gentleman in the light greatcoat?” He prayed Benny would say no.

“No, from what I hear she is unmarried, as are the two gentlemen to the front of the group and our scholar, there, in the back.”

“Better and better…” muttered Sam. Dean chuckled at him as Sam continued, “They’re very elegant.”

“Better pleased with themselves than what they see, I think.”

Ahead of the three men, Mary Winchester beckoned them forward, whispering, “Dean! Sam! Come here!”

“You see that gentleman there?” Dean followed her pointed hand to the figure of the beautiful man in the beige greatcoat. “Lady Lafitte has just told me he’s Mr. Gabriel Novak’s oldest friend, and distantly related. His name is Castiel Novak, and he has a mighty fortune, and a great estate in Derbyshire. Gabriel Novak’s wealth is nothing to his. Ten thousand a year at least! Don’t you think he’s the handsomest man you’ve ever seen boys?”

Dean stopped ogling the man, Castiel, to turn to his mother who waited with an expectant look upon her face. 

“Hmm…” he glanced at Sam who shook his head subtly, telling him not to rile their mother, “I wonder if he’d be quite so handsome if he was not quite so rich?”

The men all laugh, and Mary sets to shushing them as Sir John leads Gabriel Novak their way. 

She whispers to them, “smile, boys, smile… Oh where are the rest… There you are!”

Sir John smiled at his son and the Winchester clan broadly. “Mrs. Winchester, Mr. Gabriel Novak has expressed a wish to become acquainted with you and your children.”

She smiled politely at the men, “Sir that is very good of you,” she curtsies, and her children greet the man likewise. As Gabriel bows, Dean can see that the man keeps sneaking glances at Sam. 

“This is Dean, my eldest. And Sam, and Kevin sits over there. And Jo and Charlie, my youngest, you see there dancing. Do you like to dance yourself?” Mary asked hopefully. 

“There is nothing I love better, Madam. And if Mr. Winchester is not otherwise engaged, may I be so bold as to claim the next two dances?”

Sam’s head shot up, and for a moment he looked a touch shocked, but the look quickly passed and was replaced with his generally calm, happy demeanor. 

“I am not engaged, sir,” he replied with a happy little smile. He glanced at Dean after Gabriel nodded in a happy assent. 

Mary looked positively glowing as she thanked the gentleman. 

“You do us a great honor, sir! Thank the gentleman, Sam.”

Dean notices that his mother has yet to acknowledge Mr. Castiel Novak. 

“Mamma…” he whispers, nodding his head subtly towards the gentleman, who appeared to be lost in the decorations and celebration around them. 

“And you, sir? Are you fond of dancing, too?”

The man tilts his head and furrows his brows at the question, and Dean takes the moment to admire him. He has dark hair that appears untameable, looking like one of his siblings had attempted to put a comb to it, but failed at their task. His angelic facial features were sharply contrasted by the scruff on his face. His most striking feature by far, Dean couldn’t help but concede, had to be his eyes. Bluer than any he’s ever seen, they mimicked the deep blue of an electrical storm breaking across the horizon. As they met his own, Dean could have sworn he saw jet-black lightning streak across the blue into his pupils as the eyes narrowed at him. He quickly dropped his eyes, embarrassed to have been caught staring. Mr. Gabriel Novak made a sound of surprise and turned to his companion.

“Oh, I beg your pardon. Mrs. Winchester, may I present my cousin and friend, Mr. Castiel Novak.”

The Winchesters all pay their respects to Castiel, and he bows in return. Mary meets his gaze and smiles broadly at this new potential prospect for one of her children.

“You are very welcome to Hertfordshire, I am sure, sir…” she says, cutting her eyes to her eldest before continuing, “And I hope you have come here eager to dance, as your cousin has.”

If Dean thought his breath was gone at the sight of those eyes, his soul nearly went as well when he heard Castiel speak for the first time.

“Thank you, madam,” blue eyes fell to the floor, as Castiel quietly responded to Mary in a deep, resonating voice that left Dean speechless, “but I rarely dance.”

Ever the optimist when it came to her powers of persuasion, Mary persisted.

“Well, let this be one of the occasions, sir. For I wager you’ll not easily find such lively music, or such handsome partners.”

Dean could feel the blood leave his face at the obvious praise to himself. Without even glancing back up from the floor, Castiel bowed to the Winchesters and disappeared into the crowd, leaving a thoroughly scandalized Mary and slightly disappointed Dean in his wake. His cousin turns and, noticing Castiel’s sudden absence, the quirky smile was replaced with a look of familial frustration. 

He turned to the scoffing Mary, “Erm, pray, excuse me Ma’am.”

He too disappeared into the crowd, and Dean watched as Sam followed the man’s progress through the crowd from his mother’s side.

“Well! Did you ever meet such a proud, disagreeable man?” Mary was a shade of red typically reserved for her ire at her children. Sam coughed uncomfortably at the height of her voice, and Dean ignored the looks they were being given by other goers.

“Mamma, he will hear you…” 

“I don’t care if he does! And his friend disposed to be so agreeable, and everything charming. Who is he to think himself so far above his company?”

“Well,” said Dean, “the very rich can afford to give offense wherever they go. We need not care for his good opinion.”

“No, indeed.”

Seeing that his mother had calmed quite a bit, Dean threw on a roguish face and smiled at her before saying lowly, “Perhaps he’s not so very handsome, after all.”

“No, indeed, quite ill favored. Certainly nothing at all to Mr. Gabriel.”

* * *

The first time Gabriel Novak and Sam Winchester took the floor, Dean couldn’t help but allow a bright smile onto his face. His brother looked like an absolute behemoth next to the short man, but it was clear to Dean that Sammy didn’t mind this at all. The lively couple lit up the room in their wake, turning an already mystical setting into an ethereal wonderland, with two gleeful fae dancers gracing it’s center. Dean wasn’t one to believe in love at first sight or soulmates, but the two seemed to instantly click as they moved. 

Gabriel seemed to be smiling at someone beyond Sam between the first and second dance, before he continued his flirtation with his partner. Following Novak’s gaze, Dean saw Castiel standing off to the side of the hall, watching the dancers as they rallied for the next movement to begin. His head was cocked slightly to the side, like a bird, and his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to decipher some meaning in the movements of those on the floor. He gave a quick uptick of his lips in amusement at his cousin before the look returned. 

Dean could clearly hear his mother gossiping with other matrons near the refreshments about the new arrivals; specifically the apparent pride of a one Mr. Castiel Novak. He rolled his eyes and looked to see his sisters dancing giddily with a group of younger children, Charlie balancing a particularly young boy on her toes as they turned in a circle. One more glance at Sam had him happy with the conduct of the gentle Winchester’s partner. Gabriel was currently introducing Sam to his siblings, who greeted the tall man with far more warmth and interest than they had the hall. 

“I wonder at Charlie and Jo.”

The sudden speech had Dean turning to Kevin, who had placed a mark in his book and was looking out at the crowd from their seats at the side of the ballroom. Dean had an arm casually slung cross the back of his little brother’s chair. “They are so fond of dancing. I take little pleasure in a ball.”

He stifled a laugh at the slightly disgusted look that crossed Kevin’s face. The relationship they had was an odd one, but Dean loved the bookish boy. He often would try to help him break out of his shell a bit, but Kevin was stubbornly happy to remain in a bubble of books and music. 

“I would take more pleasure in this one,” Dean responds, “if there were enough partners as agreeable as Sammy’s.”

Kevin snorted in distaste, “I believe the rewards of observation and reflection are much greater.”

“And so they are when there are none others to be had. We shall have to be philosophers, Kevin.”

He reaches out and gives the boy’s hair a quick ruffle before Sam appears with Benny. Sam gives him a look of _Really Dean?_ as he smoothed the hair back out.

Kevin grumbles out a quick thanks to Sam before he dives back into his newest acquisition, a book of French poetry. 

Benny and Dean watch as a conversation unfolds between Castiel and Gabriel nearby.

“Come, Castiel, I must have you dance. I must. I hate to see you standing about in this stupid manner. Come,” the man begged, “you’d much better dance.”

“I certainly shall not. In an assembly such as this? It would be insupportable.”

Benny made a face at Dean out of sheer disbelief at the man’s words.

Castiel continued, “Meg and Balthazar are engaged at present. You know perfectly well it would be a punishment for me to stand up with anyone else in the room.”

“Good God, Cas, I wouldn’t be as fastidious as you are for a kingdom!” To his credit, Gabriel looked truly scandalized at his cousin’s reluctance to dance. “Upon my honor,” the eyebrow raised by Castiel at the phrase should be made illegal, Dean decided, “I never met so many pleasant men and women in my life. And several of them uncommonly beautiful, yeah?”

Castiel deadpanned, “You have been dancing with the only handsome man in the room.”

Ignoring the rudeness of the statement and Benny’s clear look that stated he’d gladly go show Castiel what handsome looks like, Dean chose instead to focus on Gabriel’s next words:

“Cas, he is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld.”

Dean hoped he meant it, for the way his brother had been looking at Gabriel…

Before he could finish the thought, Benny had pulled him to face him, and had started whispering, “they’re looking this way, brother. No, don’t look…”

“Look, look,” Gabriel continued, unawares that the two could hear him, “there’s one of his brothers. He’s very handsome, too. I dare say, very agreeable.”

“He is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me.”

The only thing holding Dean back from rounding on the proud man and calling him out right there was the silent look of warning from his best friend.

“Brother, don’t even think about it.”

Dean decided that the men truly had no idea how loud they could be as Castiel kept going.

“Gabe, I’m in no humor to give consequence to young men who are slighted by the rest of the party. Go back to your partner, enjoy his smiles. You’re wasting your time with me.”

Gabe quickly retreated and went to bow before Sam, asking for another dance, which he quickly accepted. Benny landed a heavy hand on Dean’s back and whispered in his ear as they moved together to pass by Castiel.

“ _Sha, would’ya look, I think the poor boy made us…_ ”

Dean let out a laugh at the tone, and Benny grinned at him. He barely catches Castiel’s eyes as they dissolve into the chaotic lines of the crowd and the hanging candles and fairy globes...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this second installment! This is when some of the characters start to shift a little outside the original lines of Austen’s world. This world is (obviously) accepting and open about preferences and pronouns. To make some of them clear: Gabe, Dean, Sam, and Meg are bisexual. Charlie and Cas are gay. Jo is straight; Kevin is unlabeled, but Dean will be viewing him as aro/ace; and finally, Balthazar is my first nonbinary character. If you see me following some stereotype or other fallacy that I’m unaware of with any of these, DO NOT HESITATE to reach out! I will gladly fix these issues and I’m always happy to learn more about inclusivity! 
> 
> As always, all my love:  
> O


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